School's out and home's in, says education rebel

Home is where the heart is: John Taylor Gatto says children learn best at home where curriculums can be tailored to meet their needs.Photo: Bob Pearce

Bridie SmithJune 5, 2007

JOHN Taylor Gatto attracted his fair share of attention in three
decades teaching in some of New York's toughest schools.

In 1991 he was named New York Teacher of the Year, making even
bigger headlines when he used his acceptance speech to resign from
the profession.

But it's in his retirement that the former English teacher has
generated the most interest, travelling the world speaking out
against compulsory schooling. All this has made him a controversial
critic known as the "educational saboteur".

If Mr Gatto had his way, schooling would be voluntary and more
children would be home-schooled, with curriculums tailored for
individual students.

He says the primary flaw of the conventional school system is
that it teaches children to remember information rather than
understand it, which does not produce critical thinkers.

"Schools basically teach nothing at all except obedience," Mr
Gatto said ahead of his arrival in Melbourne tomorrow. "They break
the imagination and they break the self-confidence. Testing drives
the curriculum, turning teachers into clerks.

"Australian schools strip kids of real experience, just as US
schools do."

Mr Gatto, who will speak at the National Home Education
Conference from June 6 to 10, said home schooling had many
advantages for children.

"You tailor the procedures to the person you are working with by
understanding their strengths and interests," he said.

"As soon as you see someone working in their area of interest,
you don't have to discipline them they work around the
clock."

The author of five books on education, including Dumbing Us
Down, Mr Gatto said he expected the number of home-schooled
students to increase in Australia, as it had done in America.

Home Education Network spokeswoman Susan Wight said about 1000
Victorian children were home-schooled.

"Ten years ago it was seen as the province of religious people
or hippies, but in the past 10 years there has been a growing move
by mainstream families to look for an alternative," she said.

"So many children are coming out of school and can't read or
write and parents have just had enough of that."

Ms Wight said dissatisfaction with the quality of education was
the main reason parents were seeking an alternative, but parents
were also pulling children out of schools because of bullying.